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The second inour
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~~ murky world of 8.5...

| scholarships

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By Novillo dud

OEL Nelson is fast. Last year he was the |

© Canadian juvenile 100-metre and 200«metre
champion. Me’s also smart. He has a 3,67
grade point average and wants to bea
sports psychologist,

The Cirade 12 student at Surrey's Prank Hurt Secondary
School ly looking fora good university nee will fund at
least part of the costs of bls deadenie and athletic ambliians
fur the next four years,

tn . : { :
Davial Smith is fist and smaet, tou, la little more thine

“orhan ft takes to say “schalership,” he bntrodueed Nelson ta

“Tandreds af schoots via slick promotional package mailed
out across North America, Silty service costs US$790,
For Nelson and tls parents, {t's a price worth paylag,
But there are teachers, counsellors and coaches in the edie
cation, system who belleve North Vancouver-based Stuth Is
ethically wrong to protic trons high sebool students, They

argue that his service merely imitates what goud schools

should do for free and thacl{a student [sa good enough,
“athlete he'll be recognized without having to pay for self
promotion,

* Pressed tn a bagey track sult, Nelson shifts his athlete
“frame restlesshyett a school chair, His hands are out-
stretched to ilustrate a point, “Without this service my

ing his pals tageth-
er “Now the hands illustrate the
point. ‘> Bo
The service he’s talking about is
College Prospects of America, Davi
"Mainland representative, '
“North Shore. 9
Nelson litard abottt the company last year frons a couple
of friends-at North Delta Secondary School. Both of them
eos ; garnered football scholar
ships through College
» Prospects, one at a furor
college in California and
1 othe other ata Division LH
“school in St. Louis,

“fT called, spoke ta David

and he asked about my
_ athletic and academic abili-
Hess He checked me out,

then came over to speak
with my family and show
us 4 video.

“It's like a sales pitch, bur
, he was honest with us, It’s

expensive, but it gives you

y’res.” His outstrercher

provided by Ohlo-hased
id Smith is its Lower
working from an oftice on the:,

a scholarship.”

Nelson says if his Surrey
high schoot had, connee-
tions with colleges and
coaches in the States, he
wouldn't need College
Prospects,

After his interview, Smith
prepared a profite af ~
Nelson, including details
of athletic and academic
achievements, statistics and
skills, comments from
coaches and a photo. (in
other sports, like basket-
ball or football; College

_ Prospects would include a
i Ly . video of game footage in
the package, but it’s not

sport-funding
Series looks into the
“college athletic

he wo, * iy
“considered necessary for track.)
Joel and his parents proofread the profile ‘and Smith sent

's it to the company’s head office in Logan, Ohio, Based on

‘Nelson’s capabilities on the trackand in the classroom,
‘head office sent the package to coaches at 443 NCAA
(National Collegiate Athletic Association) and NAIA
' (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools
_— roughly 60% of the 779 schools with an outdoor track
rogram in North America. (NCAA schools are divided
into three divisions, primarily based on student populations,

“with Division 1 schools reflecting more students.)

Nelson says he knows what type of school he’s looking
for. “I want to go to a Division [ school because their ath+
letés compete at the top level. [t's got to be academically
sound because-T want to end up with a diploma that’s |
worth something when 1 come back.”

He’s heard the argument that.self-promotion shouldn't
be necessary if a student athlete is good.

“People say you'll be noticed, but 1 don’t believe it —',

“maybe for baseball, but little else? On this program | will

- know of all the opportunities ayailable.”

Nelson hasn’t. ruled out Canadian schools and regards

~ © Simon Fraser University and the University of B.C. as
., options, SFU is the only university in Canada that offers

athletic scholarships. It competes in the NAIA, whereas the
other universities subscribe to Canadian Interuniversity
Athletic Union (CIAU) rules, which bar schools from offer-
‘ing athletic scholarships.
However, Nelson is considering scholarship offers from‘
Idaho State University and Coastai Carolina College. The

NORTE §

“the best opportunity to get -

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fashion arts travel

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if 0, vo
MY

HEAD GAMES: College Prospects of America’s David Smith connects high achool stu

f

packaging

ofan

amateur [a

University of Pennsylvania’s track coach
offered Nelson a partial scholarship
Worth $20,000,

“Even then we'd have to find another
$16,000, bur still, $20,000 isn’t a bad return ona
$1,000 investment,” says Nelson. ,

Nelson represents part of a growing southward migra-
tion of Canadian students, A recent study at the University
of Calgary showed the, number of Canadians studying in
the ULS. rose 21% (from 17,868 to 22,655) between 1989
and 1994, tt also claimed that students in Canada have
debts averaging $16,000 upon graduation, compared to

$11,000 in the U.S., where there are more than 1,600
schools. From golf to goat-roping, there is $6 billion worth

4

‘

‘Jines south? oe ie ' —
brain /brawn drain cacthe US. does

e a i ‘ an,
‘Sunday, June 16, |

t

\e
wh
f

dents with U.S, colleges.
ye . :

cra tas
fian students ‘are casting their

of scholarships to give! awa
Is it any surprise Cat

The perception ofa
wt bother Ba McNulty, vogational guidance counsellor at
Vancouver's Magee Secondary School, He's helped students
trom Magee and other-schools get to UCLA, Stanford, ~
Berkeley, MPTeand Yale, 0" : Paes

After 22 years at Magee and four decades involved in
top-light Canadian athletics, McNulty has: forged contacts
with schools, coaches and vocational counsellors on both
sides of thé. border. He believes the network of teachers in
the Lower Mainland’s high schoo! system can help’ students
explore'scholarship opportunities for free. -

“The kids Phelp:Pve known for five years, day in, day.
out,” says MeNulty. “Pye seen how they react to disap:
pointment; 1 know what motivates them and
Vm honest with them about
what they can achieve and

where theyshould be aiming

tor, oe me,
“Now you tell me a company. is
going to come in and spend”
half-an-hour or an hour with a
. kid and, based on that, be able
to show them the best place they
should be going to school. I'd

many competitions must Fran in?’
What's the graduation rate of this
school? What happens iff get

~ supposing he’s an asshole?’ "
“This isn’t about the next four years,
it's about the rest of their lives,”
MeNulty says he helped Olympic ath-
“letes write résumés and covering let-
ters and is happy to do it for his stu-
~ dents. “We'll send out 20, 30,50
packages to various colleges. Sending
hundreds is like casting a fishing line.
“We (teachers) are undersold in the
schools. There are enough of us out
there committed enough. Ken Taylor at Burnaby Central
has produced many athletes who've represented Canada.
Joyce Yakubowich, Doug Chapman, [an Gordon, David
Stein, Joanne Fox, Heather de Geest — these are just off
the top of my head. Ask Ken Taylor where you should go.
It could save you a lot: more than $1,000.”.

__ See Scholarship page 3
arse BS

a Randall Cosco photo .

“ask: “What happens if T fail? How >

injured? What about, the coach ~~

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